


Project Raven

by Shachaf_Art3mis



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 08:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17504831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shachaf_Art3mis/pseuds/Shachaf_Art3mis
Summary: Project Moonlark was the only project the Black Swan made...Or was it...





	1. Intro

A late autumn leaf was floating through the crisp evening air, lingering on the sidewalk before a new gust of wind called it, asking the leaf to join. But unexpected changes always tend to happen, and the crisp leaf was crunched under Charlotte's boot. As she walked back home from her saxophone lesson, stepping to the beat of her winter playlist, she would never have thought that a big change was about to occur in her life. No one expects this big a change, it just happens. Little did she know that a pair of teal eyes were hiding in the bushes and engraved on the sidewalk tile ahead of her was a subtle curve of a swan's neck. _Three... Two... One... Now!_ Transmitted Fitz, right when Charlotte's foot stepped on the marked tile. As Keefe heard Fitz's command shouting in his head, he pressed a button on the hideout below, bringing Charlotte down with the tile, startled and unconscious by the time she reached the bottom. The Black Swan's contraption brought her down with the tile, spraying a sleeping gas on her as she made her way to the bottom. That way it would be easier to leap her to the lost cities, to Everglen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Charlotte's POV:**

I woke up to a pair of ice blue eyes, startled and struggling to get my bearings. “Whoa! Easy there, you’re hitting me with enough stress to last me through midterms and finals combined, not to mention all that confusion… it would probably be enough to cover for Sophie’s level two alchemy!” Though I was sure I never saw him, I knew there was something familiar in the way he spoke and how he looked, it was almost as if… “Are you Keefe?” I blurted out, my cheeks slowly turning bright red from embarrassment. I knew that it couldn’t be, Keefe was just a character in the stupid book series I was obsessed in, and yet… “Did my stunning good looks give me away?” he asked, tousling his hair, which somehow made him even more good looking… if that was even possible. “But now is not the time to admire my good looks.” He said, pulling me out of my thoughts, “Captain Grumpy Pants has a lot to tell you, and I don’t think he’ll be so happy to wait while you tell me how attractive I am.” Ro snickered from the corner of the room, and Mr. Forkle peeked his head inside. “I know you have many questions for me, and this must be very confusing, but you have to trust me for now.” Awkward silence filled the room as I stared at Mr. Forkle. It seemed to grow and expand, like a bubble that grew slowly between us, growing and growing, only popping when Ro slammed the door behind her and Keefe. Mr. Forkle slowly made his way to the giant canopied bed, a look of genuine sorrow filling his eyes. “Look,” he said, taking my hand. He held it like it was fragile, and could break with the touch of a feather. “I know this must be very hard and confusing to you, but how about we start with the easier things.”

He started by telling me that the series, Keepers of the Lost Cities, was written so that it would be easier to re-integrate me into the elven world, at the same time as subconsciously training human’s minds to accept elves without really meeting them. He told me about recent events here, and filled in the gaps between the book and reality, slowly and slowly building up and sharing more and more things that were nearly unbelievable.

I had always wanted to be part of the story. Wanted a talent of my own. I wanted to be an elf. But now that I knew that my dream could come true, I couldn’t believe it. “We called you ‘Project Raven’, because of their amazing intelligence and their trust to their pack, you will find in yourself many of these same characteristics once you return to your true, elvin form” continued Mr. Forkle. “Wait!” I cried, my head swirling with endless possibilities, “did you just say ‘true form’?” My head began to hurt, trying to understand what he meant. “Yes, just as Sophie’s genetics are modeled off of that of an alicorn, yours is modeled off of that of a dragon” as I tried to wrap my already sore head around this new information, a strikingly beautiful girl with chocolate brown hair jumped into existence in the corner of the room. “Dragons are extinct!” she shouted, startled, blush slowly crawling into her cheeks as she noticed that she blew her cover. “They have been for over a thousand years, and you’re implying that you’ve seen one in less than a hundred!?” Mr. Forkle had a hint of a smile crawling across his lips, but the stare that he gave the girl, who I assumed was Biana, was downright chilling. “Whatever you have heard me say, Biana, you may not repeat, and I do have something to tell you and all your friends. I hope you will keep your secrets to yourself until then.” The look that he gave her made it look like if she was going to share, something was going to happen. I sure wouldn’t want to be her then. “I must say though, I am impressed you managed to stay quiet for this long.” He told her with an amused grin. His smile faded as he returned his focus to me. “If you are ready, we can go outside, there is someone that I called over who will help you change forms. Gripping my hand, it seemed as if he was excited to see what would happen. But just like me, he was nervous. So nervous. We walked down the stairs in a thick cloud of silence. It seemed like Della, or who I assumed was Della, a beautiful woman with cobalt blue eyes and hair that looked almost exactly like Biana's already knew the plan. I hardly noticed walking outside the blinding gates of Havenfield, until Keefe's ice blue eyes pulled me out of my troubled thoughts. I looked around at the semi-circle that we formed, and as I tried to make out the faces in our tight group, Mr. Forkle shaked his head, coming out of his daze, and started to tell me who was who. He started with Keefe, who gave a toothy grin as Mr. Forkle said his name, then he continued to Biana and Della, who I had already guessed previously. He introduced Linh, I remembered that she was the hydrokinetic with silver coated on the tips of her hair, and then introduced me to Fitz, a boy with pretty teal eyes, who was holding Sophie's hand. Just like her description in the book, she had beautiful brown eyes. My eyes caught at the creatures standing in a formation behind her, staring back at me. I quickly looked away, but my eyes still lingered on other bodyguards, hardly believing that ogres, trolls and goblins were real. But as I looked back at Sophie's entourage, the short green gnome, Flori, gave me an assuring green toothed smile and a wink.


	3. Chapter 3

A woman with brown hair and periwinkle eyes glittered into existence a few feet away from us. She introduced herself as Killian and scanned our small semi-circle. Once her eyes found mine, they quickly darted back to Mr. Forkle, giving him a questioning look. "She's the one, isn't she?" She asked, giving a smile of pure joy as he nodded. Killian took my hand as we walked further away from the others, followed only by Mr. Forkle and Elwin. Mr. Forkle did not introduce him yet, but the crazy animals on his shirt gave him away immediately. Killian kneeled down next to a tree, motioning me to join her. She held both my hands, staring in my eyes, and as I looked into her's, I noticed glints of purple. "Think of all of your memories that make up your sense of self." She said in a soothing voice. "Wrap them around yourself, and encase yourself in them, like a caterpillar does before turning into a butterfly." She smiled at me and dropped her hands, hinting me to do what she described. "Your first self-induced transition might be hard on you, so I will give you a boost, and Elwin is on standby, in case something unexpected occurs." Mr Forkle promised.

I felt strength slowly flowing into my mind, like a river of power coursing through my head. I used the energy as fuel, calling to mind every moment that made me, well, me. I ignored how I looked and how others thought of me. No matter how hard they would try, others can never define me. They are outside, I am the only one who defines myself. I used my memories and emotions as a cocoon of sorts, adding more and more until suddenly, a blinding light flashed, and even through my closed eyes I was blinded for several seconds. When I finally opened my eyes, I found Mr. Forkle and Elwin half the distance between the rest of the people and me. They were on the ground, rubbing their eyes, it seemed like they got it worse than I did. This was odd. I felt like the light was right around me. Further away, the rest of the group were blinking back their vision, they obviously felt the effect of the light as well. Surprisingly, as I turned to face Killian, I found that she was not in the least affected by the light. After giving her a questioning look, she told me that I would just have to learn to retain the light. At that, she closed her eyes, and in around two seconds and a soft flash of light, she turned into a beautiful dragon with majestic red scales. Where a horse's mane would be , she had a purple scaled ridge on her back, and her tail also slowly turned purple as it neared the end, the triangular tip covered in purple scales. Mere seconds before the others had their vision back, Killian, in her dragon form, flew past the horizon.

Mr. Forkle was the first out of his daze. He lunged towards me, taking my hand and asking me how I felt. I saw his scrunched forehead filled with worry, and started to answer his question. "I'm just tired." But maybe I was a bit more than that, because my vision started to blur, and seconds later, I passed out and collapsed on the grass.


	4. Chapter 4

_Can you hear me Charlotte?_ A voice called in my head. I slowly opened my eyes to Mr. Forkle's bloated body, glad to see worry disappear from his face. "How long was I out?" I asked groggily, unprepared for his answer. "Twenty hours, Killian said the first transition should take a lot out of you, but I did not expect you to be out for that long." "Twenty four hours!" I shouted "oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout, I'm feeling really weird right now" a confusing sensation flew through my body, I couldn't really understand the meaning of it. "You manifested as an empath." He explained "I helped give it a little push, but overall, once you turned back into an elf your body started doing it's thing." He called someone outside the door, " You're welcome to come in now" and then turned back to me. "Elwin is going to do a check up on you, but before he starts, we're going to check whether or not you are allergic to limbium." I froze at the name. Sophie was deathly allergic to limbium, a common ingredient in many Elvin medicines. As a drop of the silvery liquid dropped onto my tongue, I felt it swell and bristle, my throat closing off and breathing felt impossible. After what felt like eternity, but was probably a few seconds, liquid was pushed into my mouth, an antidote, opening my airways and letting air flow into my lungs. The air feel so good and refreshing, and my dry throat felt good as new once I chugged down a bottle of youth.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Mr. Forkle, the worried crease back in the furrow between his eyebrows. "I thought you're reaction would be much less severe than Sophie's. I was hoping that you would not be allergic at all but it turns out you reacted to one drop as much as she would react to ten!" I tuned him out as he continued to worriedly babble, Elwin flashing colored lights around my body. I popped out of my daze as he addressed me. "I realized that I haven't actually introduced myself," he said with a wide smile "I'm Elwin, and through the books that Mr. Forkle told me about I'm pretty sure you know that you can trust me with practically any injury you want to throw at me." He gave me a wink as I returned a shy smile. I did know him through the books. His cheerful smile assured me that I was going to be just fine, and the animals on his shirt were just as crazy as I would have expected.

He handed me a list of paper with a list of elixir names scribbled on it. "Just the normal" he assured me with a bright smile "this is just about what I made Sophie drink the first few weeks she was in the lost cities." He explained, "and since you lived in the forbidden cities a few years longer than Sophie did, the list is a bit longer. I also want you to drink at least two bottles of youth a day for two months, just to clean out your system." He finished with a wink. "How about I give these to Grady and Edaline, so that They can have them ready after the councillors meet you." I couldn't speak. I still couldn't process what was happening to me.

I knew when coming here that I would have to prove to members of the council that I belong in Foxfire, and that I would have a new adoptive family in the lost cities. I just couldn't believe it. "So I'm staying with Edaline, Grady, and Sophie?" I asked, watching panic fill Mr. Forkle's eyes as he noticed that he didn't tell me before. "Yes, Grady and Edaline told me that they would love you to join the family, and Sophie agreed with them, telling us that she was the only one who knows how it feels like to... you know" he finished awkwardly. I could almost feel the pity he was sending towards me. How it feels like to be a lab experiment. But at the end, he was right, and I was glad to have a friend on my side. I smiled, and he continued, "The gnomes already started building another floor to Havenfield, but it should take another week, Alden and Della welcome you to stay at their house until your room at Havenfield is ready. They even invited Sophie, Keefe, Tam, Linh, and Marella for a sleepover, so you won't be lonely." He said, a smile crawling across my face. I was excited to finally actually get to know the people I knew so well through the books.

Mr. Forkle opened the door and called Biana. Once he told her that she was to elf-ify me, because "If she is an elf, she has to look like it" I knew I was in for the infamous Biana makeover. A crazy outfit and an outrageous hairdo later (which, by the way, I made her change and simplify), I looked into her full - sized mirror. I took in a breath. I couldn't believe what I saw in the mirror. This was the first time I saw myself as an elf. I wore the classic Elvin boots, black leggings, a maroon tunic and a royal purple cape, but my eyes were what made my heart skip a beat. I had purple tinted periwinkle eyes sprinkled with specks of purple, I had to close my eyes and open them again, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "The cape really brings out your eyes, don't you think?" Biana asked with a grin, hardly surprised by my purple eyes, she had probably become accustomed to odd eye colors by hanging out with Sophie for so long. Mr. Forkle entered the room and told me that the councillors we're ready for me. I was one hundred percent sure though, that I was not ready for them. In a trance, I took his hand, and walked to a closed door. I knew that once I stepped inside, I would set my fate, and I hoped I would make a good first impression for at least a few members of the council.


	5. Chapter 5

I cautiously walked through the doors and took in the large room I stepped into. As I scanned my eyes across the room, I noticed an enormous chandelier, a waterfall of long shimmering crystals, hung over a large round table that was so fancy it had to come out of a fairytale. The second I noticed the councillors, with their jewel encrusted circlets and capes clasped with precious stones, I knew I had to curtsy. I tried to use the ballet that I learned all through elementary school to use, and gave my most elegant curtsy, but somehow I almost fell on the way back up, I guess that means I'm more closely related to Sophie than I thought. I panicked as I noticed that there were not three, as the book suggested, but four. What was the reason for this? Would they see me as a threat? Right as I opened my mouth to ask why, the elf closest to me, with rosy cheeks and long golden ringlets, spoke up. “My name is Oralie, and I am an empath, I'm here to monitor your emotions for this test. This here is Councillor Emery,” she motioned across the table to a dark skinned man with sapphire blue eyes, “and he will monitor your thoughts throughout the test if needed” she continued, I wondered if my mind was impenetrable like Sophie's. “This is Councillor Terik,” she motioned to the man next to Emery. Councillor Terik had wavy brown hair and cobalt blue eyes, a silver cane by his side to help him walk with his prosthetic leg. “As a descryer,”  Oralie continued, he will sense your potential at the end of your test.” Finally, Oralie turned to her side and introduced Councillor Bronte. His slightly amused smile made me remember what I was here for. “We thought it would be a good idea to add Councillor Terik to the judging panel, so that he can descrey you before we vote whether or not you attend Foxfire.” I had to remind myself to breath. I grounded my feet on the floor and took a sip of water from the cup in front of me. “At this time” announced Oralie, “only councillors, Sophie,and Mr. Forkle may stay in this room for the test.” 

“I was nervous.” That was a big understatement. I was shaking, and hardly remembered to breath until a voice popped into my head. I never heard that voice before, and as I turned around, I saw Sophie smiling. You got this Charlotte, trust your instincts, I think that Bronte is the only one you should be worried about. I smiled back to her. I was happy to have someone else who went through something similar on my side.

“To begin this test,” explained councillor Oralie, “you must perform a common elvin skill that all elves have, telekinesis.” I looked around for help, I never did this before, and was confused where to start. “It's ok, Charlotte, you got it!” I heard Sophie say as I pleased for help with my eyes ”It should work as second nature, just imagine, like, extending your arms, y'know” I nodded and closed my eyes. Ever since I was little, once in a while I would pretend that I could lift things with my mind. I always felt silly doing it, it was something from books, and movies, but nevertheless, I tried. So I opened my eyes with renewed energy, and tried to lift the table with my mind. I didn't even move my hand, and yet, the grand table, plates and China still sitting in their place, sturdily floating in the tense air. At my accomplishment, Mr. Forkle and Sophie began to clap and cheer, joined by all but one of the councillors. My body ridged, I stretched my peripheral vision, until I caught a glimpse of Bronte. He wasn't scowling like he was before, but in order to get him to vote for me, I had to impress him. So keeping my gut energy holding the table in the air, I extended my arm to the flower vases that rested on a ledge encompassing the room. Scraping together more energy than I ever thought I had, and shakily lifted the vases of the ledge. It took three seconds for my hold to falter. I remembered Sophie's catastrophic release of the table during her test, so I carefully lowered everything I was holding up, finally releasing an inch off the ground. Once the small thump echoed through the room, the same previous group broke into a cheer, and as I turned my head to Bronte, I saw a thin smile on his lips. As soon as he noticed that I had seen the smile he explained, “That was acceptable for a first demonstration of telekinesis.” Snickers and scoffs filled the room, I'm guessing that means that the other councillors approved of my demonstration. 

“Step two of this test,” prompted councillor Emery, “will be telling a certain person's emotions. With your ability as an empath, you will read my emotions, and Councillor Oralie will too, in order to ensure that the two of you are picking up similar emotions.” I took a deep breath, I knew this was coming, but I wasn’t in the least bit prepared. When Sophie had taken this test, she had nearly ten years of experience in her ability, but I had only manifested this morning, and I hadn’t even gotten to test out my talent. Needless to say, I was relieved when Councillor Oralie spoke up. “We are all aware that you manifested a few hours ago, and understand that you most likely have not tried using your ability yet due to the stress of coming to the lost cities,” she started, staring at Bronte, trying to make him go easy on me for this portion of the test, “but just try your best, and use your instincts” she gave me a comforting smile as she walked towards Councillor Emery, silently asking me to do the same. Remembering how much I managed to lift the massive dining table and more, I tried to trust myself as I placed my pale hand on Councillor Emery. I closed my eyes as I reached out to him with my mind. Immediately, I staggered back popping open my eyes. I felt like I was hit by a giant wave of emotions, and looked over at Councillor Oralie, wondering what she thought of my mistake. But all she gave me was a smile. “It can be overwhelming at first, but you just have to dial in and control the flow of his emotions” she coached, willing me to break my stare with the grinning councillor Bronte. I tried again, placing my hand back on councillor Emery, determined to not let Bronte see me fail. I imagined a barrier between the sea of emotions and myself, only letting water come in a bit at a time. Still closing my eyes, I turned my head to Oralie, listing out the emotions as I understood them. “Confusion,Hope, Wonder, Happiness” I said, opening my eyes to see Oralie nod, and getting the same confirmation as I looked over at Emery. “From what I saw, Charlotte is a very strong empath, but she will need the training of a good mentor to keep her power in check. Now we come to the final portion of this test” she said, while motioning towards Terik. “Councillor Terik will now descrey you.” I was glad to have finished most of the test as I walked over to councillor Terik, stopping for a second as my silly cape caught on the side of the table, I'd have to get used to it. As I approached him, he pulled out a chair. When I sat down, he silently took my hand and closed his eyes, concentrated. After what I was sure was more than a minute, he opened his eyes, as if caught in a trance, mumbling something impossible to hear. Once he blinked his eyes back to focus, he spoke up to the group, “I'm not sure what I saw, but it was powerful and strong, you have my vote.” And after a second of confusion, I noticed he meant my vote to get into Foxfire. One done, at least two more to go. It was a good thing I didn't need a unanimous vote, I wasn't sure I had Bronte on my side. “Me too” said Oralie “I am impressed with your empathy and you ability to control your levitation skills. With proper training, you will be able to grow stronger and maintain your empathy so that it's not overwhelming. You have my vote.” One more and I'm in! I pleased to Emery with my eyes. I needed his vote. “I was very impressed with your telekinesis and control, but was slightly startled that your control on empathy did not match.” I cringed, hoping there was a but to continue this sentence. “But,” thank god! “I quickly realized that if you do not have the opportunity for proper training, just like Oralie mentioned,” I was so glad she went before him “you would never be able to control your power. You have my vote.” I made it!!! I'm now in Foxfire, and whatever Bronte says, he can't stop me from getting in. I let my eyes wander to Bronte as his face went through a number of emotions, and now that I had unlocked my ability, I noticed that with each emotion, I could sense each one coming towards me, like the smell of warm cookies wafting from the tray. Unfortunately, most of these 'smells’ we're sour or bitter, but finally, it ended a mix of sour and sweet, like sour-patch, so since that was my favorite candy, I hoped that was a good sign. “Well, Congratulations Charlotte, you have the majority vote, so it doesn't really matter what I say, you're still in, but as councillor, I demand you be probed, though I am not sure that will do any good, if you were made the same as Sophie.” I winced at the word 'made’, but was relieved when Mr. Forkle nodded. “We can arrange with Quinlin for a probe once we are done here, if you still want him to try.” He answered respectfully. As annoying as Bronte was, he was a councillor after all. Then the councillors turned to Emery, who looked at each of them in turn, they were probably having a telepathic conversation, so that when they speak at the end, they will speak with a United voice. “Congratulations” began Emery, once they finished their conversation, “you have received a unanimous vote in favor of attending Foxfire. You must pass midterms with a 75% or higher, and finals with 85% or higher in order to stay in the school, like all other prodigies. You're uniform will be sent to Grady and Edaline and you will begin at Foxfire on Tuesday, because of the long weekend.” Once all of the councillors gave a nod, I gave out a shrill squeal and started hugging everyone in the room, starting with Sophie, who was just as happy as I was, and I even hugged Bronte at the end, though from him I felt quite a bit of embarrassment. After excessively hugging, curtsying, and thanking the councillors, I bursted out of the room. 

**“I made it!!! I'm in!”**


End file.
